Before the boom
by Pootopolis14
Summary: After meeting on Angel Island, Knuckles and Robotnik knew that it was love at first sight. But what happens when Sonic falls in love with Knuckles as well? Can Knuckles' love for Robotnik stay strong? Who will he choose?
1. Chapter 1 - The final showdown

It had been a close encounter. Robotnik had only just escaped Mobius aboard the Death Egg as Sonic was about to finish him. He had gathered all 7 Chaos Emeralds and was about to destroy Robotnik's legacy. Despite the safety of the death egg above Mobius, Robotnik knew that the end was near. After all, Sonic was still in possession of the Emeralds and he would soon ascend to the death egg in pursuit of him. This was the last stand.

Robotnik sighed as he entered the heart of his orbital fortress. He could almost feel Sonic closing in on him. His only retreat from his inevitable demise would be the one that Sonic had placed so much of his faith in; Knuckles the Echidna. It was years ago when they had first met on Angel Island, but to Robotnik, it felt like only yesterday. He dearly remembered the ever-lasting stare between their azure eyes. It didn't end there. That was when the liberating kiss had embraced them and their love for each other. This was truly love at first sight.

But then everything changed. Sonic was convinced that his love for Kunckles was equally as deep. There was always a devastating fear in Robotnik's heart that this feeling was mutual. Each day, Robotnik's fear increased as he saw less and less of the red echidna.

"My darling" came a whisper. Robotnik's ears were no stranger to the angelic sound. But he almost doubted himself for a second. Would it be true that his sweetheart was here? Or were his ears creating a dreamy imagination of his true love? Only his eyes could kill the suspense deep within his mind. It really was Knuckles after all. Robotnik had almost forgotten everything about his impending doom as their lips enclosed in an embracing kiss. What was a moment felt like hours. "I thought you wouldn't make it" Knuckles whispered, tears forming in his eyes from the overwhelming joy.

"He… that hedgehog… he almost finished me!" cried Robotnik, bursting into a flood of tears. It was simply too much to cope with. Robotnik was almost certain that death would be upon him, and the thought of never seeing Knuckles again intensified his emotional pain. Knuckles wrapped his arms around Robotnik's body and hugged him tightly. To Robotnik, this was so much more than a simple hug. This truly was love. A shield that would protect him, no matter how powerful the blue hedgehog would ever become.

That was when it happened. In a matter of minutes, everything changed. Robotnik's heart started beating uncontrollably fast. Death was upon him. He knew that he had met his match. The unmistakable figures of two hedgehogs had appeared in the doorway. Drenched with sweat, Robotnik wiped his brow. Sonic and Amy, stepping forward, prepared for the final showdown. This had confirmed all of Robotnik's increasing fears that his life was to end. He spun around on his heel, in a desperate search for Knuckles. The echidna had simply vanished. The one that made Robotnik content, despite his situation, had left him for the last time. The fight against the hedgehogs would have to be fought alone.

"It's over Eggman!" Sonic shouted "Your lame robots can't save you now!" "Yeah Eggman, just give yourself up!" shouted Amy, pulling out her hammer. "Curse you Sonic… you pathetic… little hedgehog!" Robotnik feebly cried back.

It was obvious to both hedgehogs that Robotnik was no match for them. He was weak and vulnerable, unlike the powerful leader he once was. It was difficult to believe that he was the same man that had threatened the freedom of Mobius many times with an endless swarm of robots. However, Robotnik would never surrender if it meant that he would never see his beloved echidna again.

"So Eggman, you want to do this the hard way?" Sonic asked, almost smirking at the sight of Robotnik so helpless. Robotnik didn't reply. He was too busy figuring out how to escape the hedgehogs once more.

His only hope now was to use the Death Egg Robot which had nearly defeated Sonic many years ago. There was no time to lose. Sprinting down the steel hallway, Robotnik made his way to the Death Egg's hangar, home of his Death Egg Robot. "After him!" Sonic yelled as he sprinted after his arch-nemesis. The two hedgehogs were only metres behind as they chased after him. With all 7 Emeralds in Sonic's possession, any remaining hope of the hedgehog's defeat had been lost, but, to Robotnik, anything was worth a try if it meant that he could look into the eyes of his beloved again. Just as Robotnik had clambered into the cockpit of the robot, Amy and Sonic burst into the hangar. A fight to the death was about to begin.

"No, Amy, Wait!" Sonic cried as she charged at the robot. In a blind panic, Robotnik had swung the spiked hand of the robot straight into Amy's face. Robotnik had only just prevented Amy and her hammer from smashing the cockpit in. This time, he was lucky. "NOOOOOOO!" yelled Sonic. Amy had been thrown across the hangar with the force of the hand. Her lifeless body lay in a corner on the steel floor. She was almost certainly unconscious, if not dead. This raised Robotnik's morale, as he lifted the giant foot of the robot in an attempt to crush Amy as she lay helpless. Sonic dashed and threw his whole weight against the foot, throwing Robotnik off-balance. The tide had been turned against the evil scientist. Robotnik used all of his effort to stand the robot back up. It was a race against time as Sonic was already undergoing his transformation using the Emeralds. Robotnik finally picked up his robot battle armour, ready for attack. However, it was too late.

With his transformation into Super Sonic complete, Robotnik's surviving optimism was obliterated. He used all of the robot's weapons, in a desperate attempt wipe out the hedgehog's existence. But Sonic was now invincible. He charged through the spikes and mines, raining down from above. He leaped towards the cockpit of the robot, hoping to destroy both Robotnik and his invention at once. Sonic slammed his indestructible fist against the cockpit, causing the metal frame of the robot to break and concave into Robotnik's head. Unbearable pain shot through Robotnik as metal shards impaled and lacerated the rest of his body. The wreck of the robot then exploded, incinerating what remained of Robotnik in an enormous fireball. Dozens of mines launched earlier from the robot then exploded, causing the collapse of the hangar.

As steel sections of the hangar fell all around him, Sonic decided that it was time to leave. He sprinted across to Amy's unconscious body, grabbing it as he dodged the metal debris falling from above. As the rest of the Death Egg blew up around him, Sonic threw himself out of the fortress. As Sonic began to fall back down to Mobius, the flaming wreckage of the Death Egg followed him. For what felt like hours, Sonic evaded metal fragments and frequent explosions from the burning carcass of the Death Egg. Although he had finally defeated Robotnik, the fear within Sonic was strong as one fragment or explosion would be enough to end his life. As his Super Sonic abilities wore off, there was little he could do to protect himself for what happened next. A piece of the wreckage smashed against Sonic's head, sending the two unconscious hedgehogs plummeting towards Mobius.


	2. Chapter 2 - Peace on Mobius

Chapter 2 – Peace on Mobius

Few had not seen or heard about the destruction of the Death Egg that day. It had been like a meteor, thundering towards the planet. Many thought that the impact of the orbital fortress would be the end of all life as well as Mobius itself. Fortunately, what remained of the Death Egg had landed in the ocean, off the coast of a small island near the human city of Station Square. During the next few days, celebrations were held all across Mobius. Many celebrated the end of the unforgiving dictatorship under Robotnik and the Eggman Empire. Others celebrated peace which had finally came to Mobius.

However, for Knuckles, the inevitable nightmare was just beginning. He had fled the Death Egg aboard the Tornado, in fear that Sonic would discover his love for Robotnik. Even before he landed the Tornado, Knuckles felt the unbearable pain of Robotnik's absence from him. Shortly afterwards, a flash appeared in the sky. Little did Knuckles know that Robotnik and his mighty Death Egg had just been obliterated. Knuckles had simply ignored the flash, believing that he was seeing things. His denial couldn't remain as he first heard the sound of many explosions followed by a defending roar. Looking up, he saw horror that not even nightmares could spawn. The mighty Death Egg, once an impenetrable stronghold, now in ruins. But there was a much greater dread within his heart, the certainty that his dearest Robotnik had been exterminated during the explosions.

But what about Sonic? Even if he had lost his beloved scientist in the crash, there was still a chance that his darling hedgehog had survived. Knuckles shook his head and dismissed this optimism. He had remembered the sound of the metal, straining under the force of the wreckage impacting the surface of Mobius. Such a horrific sound was enough evidence to confirm the death of anyone in the vicinity of the crash. Tears began to well up in the eyes of the echidna. He had feared that this day would come. Even the loss of one beloved would have been enough to overwhelm him with grief and sorrow. But he dried his eyes and remained hopeful. After all, his darling Robotnik had escaped from many life threatening situations before. He couldn't have been killed in the devastation. Such a powerful ruler couldn't simply suffer such a horrific demise. Instead of guessing the fate of both Robotnik and Sonic, Knuckles gazed out to the burning wreckage that was once the Death Egg, waiting eagerly for their return.

But after hours of waiting, neither scientist nor hedgehog returned to Knuckles. The tears of his doubt dampened his eyes once again. The uncertainty of what had really happened on the Death Egg was beginning to be too much to bear. He could almost feel their presence, watching him from the night sky above. Knuckles glanced up at the stars. Their beauty reminded him of the eyes of his dear lovers. His tears began to flow at this thought, but he fought them back. It was important that he remained strong for both Robotnik and Sonic. They would hate to see him in such sorrow.

As the wreckage wasn't too distant offshore, Knuckles had no choice but to swim out and investigate. He simply couldn't live on without knowing the fate of his lovers. He needed answers desperately. He swam vigorously as he approached the Death Egg. He needed to find Robotnik and Sonic as quickly as possible. Every minute of uncertainty that passed became even more painful for Knuckles' heart.

The wreckage of the Death Egg was still smouldering when Knuckles approached. He had to know the truth. Were either Sonic or Robotnik alive? Had anyone been killed in the inevitable battle after his departure? The unanswered questions, spinning around Knuckles' head, were endless. As Knuckles searched for the bodies among the twisted steel debris, many of these questions were answered in a single moment. However, he would have much rather that they remained unanswered, as he made a gruesome discovery.

Robotnik's body had been crushed against the force of his own robotic battle armour. Trapped inside the cockpit, he didn't have a chance of escaping as the sharp edges of the snapped framework pierced him multiple times. Even if Robotnik had survived this physical torture, he would have certainly perished from blood loss afterwards. Knuckles couldn't take it anymore. He could no longer deny his fear of losing his beloved Robotnik. Falling to the wreckage he was standing on, he burst into tears. It was hopeless. His dear Robotnik was dead. To make matters even worse, Knuckles was sure that he had suffered greatly during his last moments of life. As the tears stung his eyes, Knuckles suddenly remembered Sonic. Robotnik's death hadn't raised his hopes for Sonic's survival either. What was he thinking? How could his dear Sonic ever live through such carnage? Lying down on the cold steel wreckage, Knuckles broke down and cried until his eyes were incapable of producing any more tears. He was too overcome with grief to do anything else.

There was little Knuckles could do now. Not even the power of the Chaos Emeralds would be able to raise his darling from the dead. Once Knuckles reached the sandy beach of South Island, he dug with his hands into the golden sand. He carefully laid the body of his dear Robotnik before filling in the grave. The least Robotnik deserved was a grave in which he could finally rest from the threat of hedgehogs. With very little to live for, Knuckles spent the following days caring for the grave of his beloved. He simply carved: 'RIP' into a stone he had found before placing it at the grave. Now, Robotnik and his imposing regime would never be forgotten. A small tear ran down the face of the echidna. Wiping it away, he decided that he couldn't stay here any longer. He dearly wished that he could stay with Robotnik until the end of time, together on the warm sandy beach of the island, without a care in the world. But he couldn't stay here. At least if he moved away, his broken heart could heal with the passing of time.

He saluted Robotnik's grave before preparing his departure from the island. Very few had appreciated Robotnik's dynasty that, from nothing, had almost conquered the world. This deserved the respect of all of Mobius. Although he was grieved by the procedure, Knuckles felt honoured to bury such an admirable leader.

It didn't take Knuckles long afterwards to leave the island. After all, he cared little about personal belongings with his greatest possession stolen from him. He fired up the Tornado, ready to leave for a new life, a new chapter in his story. He didn't look back. If he did, his emotions and memories would overwhelm him. As the Tornado left for Station Square, Knuckles felt a strange sense of optimism. Everything would be different now. Even without Robotnik, life could only get better for him.


End file.
